


In The Eye of the Storm

by TardisInWonderland



Category: Doctor Who
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-06-18
Updated: 2012-06-18
Packaged: 2017-11-08 01:10:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 8,946
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/437477
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TardisInWonderland/pseuds/TardisInWonderland
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>I originally wrote this after the premiere of The Wedding of River Song, back in October. It stars at River's first night in Stormcage, and mostly dwells on her feelings about the whole incident, and muses on the "Are they actually married?" debate. And Poe. Poe is significant.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue (Stormcage)

It was storming. 

The guards said she’d get used to it, never seeing the sun. It was always storming here, they said. Here among the cold, metal corridors and their cells bathed in strange blue light 24 hours a day. Thunder rumbles and lightning flashes through the glass that serves as a window, though by definition you can see out of a window, so it really wasn’t one. It’s always storming as she feels her diary in her pocket and pads silently down the corridor, the ice cold cuffs biting into the warm flesh of her now pale wrists. 

The rain never stops at Stormcage.

One of the guards escorting her uncuffed her hands, and she stumbled into the cell they pushed her towards. She sat on the cot against the wall and pulled the blanket around her shoulders. The Doctor was wrong- she could remember it all. Every single moment of that awful day she remembered. The Silence, though their image was fading, the eyepatches, Madame Kovarian, and… River smiled to herself sadly as that final image came to mind. However, it was quickly replaced by a physical pain in her chest, a hurt that wouldn’t go away.

The way he looked at her on top of that pyramid. 

She couldn’t get past it. 

All that anger, all that hate, directed towards her. Rightly so, she supposed, but she almost wondered if he’d only married her to let her know she wasn’t technically going to kill him. Not because of love. 

What she said was completely true- who else was she supposed to fall in love with? That wonderful, impossible man. Her heart had been lost to him since the day she met him, and he whispered a message for River Song in her ear. A message for her. 

River shook her head, trying not to think too much. Thinking too much was typically what brought her mind to places she didn’t want to be at. Of course, as Martin Luther King, Jr., wrote, “What else can one do when he is alone in a narrow jail cell, other than write long letters, think long thoughts, and pray long prayers?” Not much, River concluded. Not much. She picked up a pen and began writing in her diary- anything, everything, nothing. Whatever came to her mind about events involving the Doctor she wrote down, but when she was finished she found that her small writing had filled but few pages. In a way that was good, because it meant there was room for more, but it was saddening to think that there wasn’t any more to fill the pages with.

River almost hoped she wouldn’t see him again- the last thing she wanted was for any more harm to come to him, and by her hand. The man she loved more than anyone else in the world, and, tesselector or not, she had shot and killed him. Later she would have to witness it again.

Somewhere down the hall a door slammed shut.


	2. Doctor in the House

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, next chapter up! I'm basically posting all these in one go, as they've already been written, so there won't be many notes along the way.

Every day was like this. Day in, day out, guards passing by and meals being slipped in. The lights never actually went off, but there was a curtain you could draw around the cell that would put your square living space in near complete darkness. You learned to sleep when you weren’t sleepy and to not care what the temperature was. River was beginning to think that this was it for her, that nothing else would ever happen again. Perhaps she would never see the Doctor again, but it might have been better off that way for him. Besides, he might not even love her, but she preferred not to think about that.

Every now and then she’d try to break out, but they would usually catch her and escort her back to her cell with only a mild chastisement. It became a sort of game for her, trying to see how far she could get. They never really bothered to up the security on her cell, as the psychological experts on the premises said that she’d probably come back. River Song was actually sorry for the crime she’d committed, and she was never scared when she tried to leave.

In the days that followed River didn’t take well to the lack of sunlight and space. She took even less to not having any visitors or anything to do, and even less than that to the idea of never seeing the Doctor again. Eventually no one could persuade her to eat, and to see her drink anything was a rarity. Her breakout attempts grew less and less frequent, and all in all it seemed that she’d nearly given up the will to live. 

The doctors could do nothing for her. She mumbled “I’m sorry” in her sleep, over and over, and in the end they concluded that her ailment was entirely self-inflicted. Something was making her lose all of the fire she’d previously had. Perhaps the conditions, perhaps the guilt. No one knew. 

However, one man did. He strode into the warden’s office confidently, and was immediately questioned.

“Who are you?” The warden asked, the air in his small office thick with acrid cigar smoke.

“I’m a doctor. A very special kind. I heard about her case and I thought it would be worth looking into.”

“Can you help her?” He took another puff on his cigar and waited for an answer.

“Why does it matter to you?” Said the second man, truly curious.

“Stormcage is charged with the care of our prisoners. If I let them die on my watch-”

“So you’re concerned for your reputation.” Said the man, spitting out the words with complete disgust.

“She’s also… special.” Said the warden. “We’ve been getting strange test results from her. Dr. Song’s biology is so unique that-”

“Say no more.” Said the man, alarmed. “I need to see her. Now. You can tell me exactly what’s wrong on the way.” The warden nodded, stood from his desk, and led him out the door and down the hall towards the East wing of the building. When they reached her cell they found her sleeping, holding her diary.

“We can’t get her to eat or drink. She talks in her sleep sometimes, and she won’t let anyone touch that book of hers. Anyone who’ll listen she tells stories about another world to- where everything in history happened at once. Insane, isn’t it?” Said the warden, unlocking the door.

“I’m sure.” The man walked over to River and kneeled beside where she was sleeping. “Can you give me a minute?” The warden nodded and left, pulling the curtain around the cell as he went.

“I’m sorry… Doctor, I’m… so sorry…” River mumbled, tossing slightly in her slumber.

“Shhhh. It’s alright.” He placed a hand on her face, pushing her curls to one side. “I told you. You are always and completely forgiven.” The Doctor leaned down and gently pressed his lips to her forehead. Her eyes flicked open, coerced into waking by the heat of another hum an body; she was unaccustomed to being touched in this place, and never so gently.

“Doctor?” River could have sworn she was dreaming, but no. There he was, in flesh and blood. Same bow tie, same ridiculous haircut. She sat up on the cot and he moved to sit beside her.

“Hello, sweetie.” He whispered. River didn’t dare to touch him just yet. “How late am I?” He asked, taking her hands.

“That depends on when you wanted to get here.” River said, reaching up slowly to stroke his face. Her skin was warm to the touch, almost feverish. She’d obviously been suffering from the dark and the cold, and maybe some other things, too. “My love, I-”

“Don’t. It had to happen. You couldn’t change it- you know that.” The Doctor pulled her closely to him. “River, what did you expect to gain from leaving the world the way it was?” He asked.

“Seeing you alive.” She mumbled.

“The whole of reality-”

“Doesn’t matter.”

“You couldn’t even touch me-”

“And?” She said, pulling away from him. “Doctor, I love you. I don’t care if you would have hated me for the rest of your life, but at least you had a life to live. Even without me.” The Doctor felt as though someone was squeezing his hearts in his chest, but she continued to speak. “I know you’ve loved other people- for heaven’s sake, I know you’ve been loved by other people! I just need to know if…” However, she couldn’t bring herself to finish the sentence. She’d given up everything for him- her life, her freedom, and ultimately she’d given him up just to keep him. He wasn’t exactly sure how to tell her what he felt- how much he loved her. Perhaps someday he would find the words. For now he changed the subject.

“What have you been doing to yourself?” He placed his hand on hers, which was still resting gently against his cheek. No sooner had he placed it there than she let her arm have weight again and it slowly dropped to her side. 

“I think you should go now, Doctor.” 

“River-”

“Go.” She turned away from him as stinging tears filled her eyes. The Doctor couldn’t believe how much he’d messed this up. Here she was, the woman he loved so much, asking for nothing more than confirmation of his love… and he couldn’t do it. Suddenly a plan formed in his mind. River wouldn’t be doing herself an favors staying here, and besides… he was getting a bit lonely. 

“River Song, you’re coming with me.” He said, causing her to turn slightly.  
“What are you- whoa!” She gasped as he picked her up and carried her out of her cell and down the hall a short ways to where the TARDIS was parked. “What on earth are you doing? Doctor, put me down!” She protested, but she from either pleasure or fear of being dropped she held onto his neck firmly until he sat her down on the seat in the console room.

“So, where do you want to go? Ah! I know!” The Doctor exclaimed, flicking switches and doing his twirling dance around the console. River didn’t have the energy to do more than smile. “You’re gonna love this.” He said, tapping her nose gently.   
“Doctor, you don’t need to take me anywhere.”

“Oh, don’t be stupid, River!” He abruptly stopped fiddling with the console and walked over to her. “You are slowly killing yourself. I can see it in your eyes, I can read it in your thoughts. You don’t want to live anymore. Why?” River looked him in the eyes, but refused to answer. 

“Ok,” said the Doctor, “I can’t let that happen. I won’t stand by and watch you die.” 

“You wouldn’t for anyone.” River said, and he knew it was true. IT didn’t make him love her any less, but it was true. When the shaking stopped and they’d landed properly, her opened the doors to reveal a sight so beautiful it brought tears to River’s eyes.


	3. Musings

The sky.

And not just any sky, the beautiful, velvet black of night, peppered with ten thousand tiny stars of all sizes and colors. From their vantage point she could see some of the larger planets glowing purple and orange in the night, one with crimson colored rings, and then closer to them a purple-white moon, casting a pale light on the place where the TARDIS had come to a landing. River’s bare feet touched cool, soft sand as she stepped outside into the warm air, and she heard waves that were invisible to them in the blackness of the night. The Doctor shut the doors behind them, eliminating nearly all light from the shore. River could feel the heat of him beside her, and his fingers found her arm, sliding down until they reached her hand and intertwined with her own.

“It’s beautiful.”

“I thought it might be a welcome change.” The Doctor whispered him her ear. “This way.” He led her by the hand down the beach, clearly at least trying to look like he knew where he was going. After walking for a short while he stopped in from of what looked like some trees growing near the place where sand turned to grass. “Here. Sit.” She did so, and the Doctor sat beside her.

“Now what?” River asked.

“Now we wait.” The Doctor lay back on the sand and looked up at the stars. “Oh, I remember that one! That’s Alfalva Metraxis, it’s… well, spoilers.” River smiled.

“Alright then. What are we waiting on?” She asked, laying back beside him. The night air was warm, and the sand made a cool contrast on the bare skin of her arms. Despite the cold of Stormcage, she usually didn’t bother to wear long sleeves.

“You tell me.” He said, trying to milk an answer out of her. “What are you looking for, Melody Pond?” The Doctor reached over and took her hand again. It took a moment before she responded.

“Something to live for.” She said, gazing up at the stars that she had never expected to see again. The Doctor moved her hand in his next to his lips and kissed it softly; River prayed he wasn’t teasing her.

“Look out there.” He said, gesturing towards the stars. She could barely see him do so in the dark. “There are ten billion things to live for right there.”

“I wish. Doctor, I’m in prison. I can’t travel with you- I’ve been convicted of murder-”

“Doesn’t mean you’re guilty of it.”

“But I am. You know I am. For all I know I’ll never see the stars again. I can’t just break out anytime I want to, now can I?” The Doctor nearly laughed.

“Well, I suppose every now and then wouldn’t hurt…”

“Doctor!”

“What?” The Doctor said, completely oblivious to anything he might have said wrong. River wondered how he could be so nonchalant about this. Her life had just been ripped from her hands like a toy from a child after everything had been given to her- the Doctor had married her; the only thing she’d wanted for so long, and now she was in prison for his murder. And was he really even married to her anymore? 

“Alright then, answer me this: if you knew you were only going to live until the sun rose, what would you do?” She asked, tracing constellations with her eyes. River felt his hand tighten almost imperceptibly around hers.

“I’ve been in that situation before, you know. Time catches up with everyone, even me. Why do you ask?”

“Because that’s how I feel now. I feel like my life could be over forever any second, and I’ll just go off and die in that awful blue-lit cell where the sun never shines. And I’ll never see y-” But here she stopped herself. The thought still rung thought her mind, however… I’ll never see you again. “So,” She continued after a moment’s pause, “What would you do?” The Doctor smiled.

“Just in the here and the now?” He asked, but River knew it probably rhetorical. She continued to gaze at the sky, trying not to look at him. Even in minimal lighting she might give herself away. Somewhere in the black beside her the Doctor’s body heat shifted so he was even closer. “You really want to know?”

“Yes.” She said. The man who had lived a thousand years- what would he do?

He was silent, and for a moment River thought he was ignoring her, but his weight shifted again, and suddenly her vision went completely dark. It was hard to keep her eyes open when the peculiar scent of time was pressed up against her in a caressing cloud, and soft lips pressed on hers, lasting just long enough to leave a lingering taste on her tongue. Seconds or minutes later River somehow wound up dazed, lying in the same soft, cool sand with her head on his chest, still hoping he was being serious. The Doctor did have a history of… quick… marriages. He traced circular shapes on her palm, letters that she didn’t know, but could feel some of the emotion in... hope, joy… and maybe, just maybe…

“So, what exactly was the answer to that?” 

“Well, I thought it would be a bit more accurate to show you rather than say it…” River blushed, suddenly glad it was so dark. 

To her, it seemed real. She wanted to believe it was real, more than anything in the world, but… no. It couldn’t be. He was the Doctor, and she was his murderer. In this timeline it was impossible. Nothing like that could ever be.

The Doctor held River in his arms, tracing the words for hope and love into her palm with delicate, practiced strokes. The woman who had loved him enough to kill him, he mused. Their lives were so tangled, so twisted and interwoven into the fabric of time, that if even one stitch was ripped the entire piece would fall apart. No, it could never be. 

Or did they dare to hope that it could?


	4. Musings Continued

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please excuse my horrible chapter titles.

“River? River, wake up!” The Doctor said urgently, louder than he should have. She’d fallen asleep on the beach, for the first time in a long time, he presumed. Now she woke in a panic, her hearts beating furiously and warm to the touch. They sat up, the pair on their knees in the sand. The Doctor put an arm around her gently.

The nightmares were there. Over and over- by the lake, killing the man she loved. The only difference was that right here, right now, she could see him. She could hold him in her harms and know he was alive and well… for now. She didn’t know how long she’d been asleep, but it couldn’t have been long. River never slept well anymore, though she hoped he hadn’t picked out why.

“I’m fine.” She said, wiping at her newly wetted face and attempting to breathe normally. 

“Liar.” The Doctor said, completely serious. It was a bit lighter out now; the sun would be rising soon. River shrugged out of the Doctor’s embrace and stood; he copied her motion. “You have to stop blaming yourself.”

“It’s my fault.”

“You were brainwashed! It’s not your fault you were conceived in the TARDIS; it’s not your fault they singled you out.” The Doctor said. River was silent, clearly disregarding everything he’d just said. “River, you’re dying.”

“What?” She asked, turning to look at him.

“I can read your thoughts like a book, you’re practically projecting them to anyone telepathic. You’re dying, and what’s more, you’ve nearly given up on living.”

“We’re all dying.” She said coldly; mechanically, like she was disgusted with the filth of what life does to a person’s soul. Sometimes she wondered if she wanted to be alive anymore. He was here, but by the same token he wouldn’t be there one day. She saved him to lose him and killed him to lose him. The only difference was that now she got to wait for her heart to break a bit more slowly. Well, that, and reality wasn’t falling apart any longer. 

“You shouldn’t be. Never this fast. You’re still a Time Lady, you know, you could live for hundreds of years.” Of course he knew this wasn’t exactly true, but she did have the potential to do so, and he managed to console himself by saying that it wasn’t the point at this very second. The sky was beginning to turn from black to purple.

“What if I don’t want to live for hundreds of years? I’m not you, Doctor, I can’t… I can’t live in a cell for the rest of my life knowing that what I’ve done has finally caught up with me.”

“I can’t let you die!” The Doctor said angrily, but only after did he realize the impact of those words. They were the exact same ones that River had said to him on top of the pyramid. He saw the scene now, her standing there with tears in her eyes, and then… he was positive those same tears were now shining on his own face. “Please, River. You’re my wife. I need you to live.” 

“Live for what? I have no life after this. You’ll be gone and I’ll be alone again!” She said, unconsciously adding “again,” as if a long lost, suppressed memory was attempting to come back to her. River swallowed her tears once more and put on a brave face, her back still to the Doctor. 

“Live for me. Please.” He said softly, taking her in his arms. “I swear I’ll come back for you, River. You won’t be alone.”

“You told mum you were coming back. That was fourteen years.” 

“Oh, that again! See, the benefit of mixed timelines is that it’s mutual now. It could be fourteen years for me and ten seconds for you.” He kissed her forehead. “Please, love. Don’t give up.” Out of the corner of their eyes they saw the sky shot through with slashes of blood red and orange, tinged with the greens and hot pinks of an alien sunrise.

“Do I see you again?” She asked.

“Spoilers.” The Doctor cringed at the word he knew he had to say.

“Not this time. Tell me.”

 

“Well…” The Doctor thought about it. “I learned to say spoilers from a woman I know with very beautiful hair, she’s saved my life several times, and I love her very much. What do you think?” River smiled for the first time in weeks.

“Alright.” She said. “Alright. But I swear, Doctor, if you’re lying to me-” She was cut off by a kiss.

“Never.” He said. “Now, I believe I owe you a trip.” 

“For what? I haven’t done anything.” 

“Well, we never did get our honeymoon, did we?”

“Were we ever even married? It was an aborted timeline, Sweetie.” River asked, sighing. The Doctor shook his head, smiling.

“River,” he said, stroking her cheek, “do you remember it?”

“Of course I remember it.”

“I remember it. It happened. As far as I’m concerned, you’re my wife, but... I would love to marry you in a non-aborted timeline. If you’ll have me, that is.” He asked nervously. The Doctor was very bad at proposing. 

“Now why on Earth would you ask me a silly thing like that?” River kissed him softly, leaning against him as the sun rose.

“So, where do you want to go?” The Doctor asked.

“Everywhere.”


	5. Chapter 5

"Alright, here we go!" The Doctor said, flipping a switch and banging the console soundly, something he hadn't done since his last regeneration. "Let's put the old randomizer to a test, shall we?" River laughed as the console shook, her fist enjoyable flight in the TARDIS… even if he was doing it wrong. The Doctor could see a little of the old life starting to come back into her.

"You know, sweetie, if you just use-"

"No backseat driving!" The Doctor said, buzzing around the console, pressing buttons and pulling levers like mad. River went after him and discreetly pressed a few others to make the flight easier on the old girl. After a few moments of shaky flight they landed.

"So, where exactly are we?" River asked, poking her head out the door. Looking around, they seemed to be in a back hallway of someplace. The walls were wood panels and the architecture…

"Well, I'd say we're probably somewhere around-"

"1850." The Doctor cast a surprised glance at River. "Archaeologist, remember?"

"1849. Fall." He said, like a child whose toy had been taken away. "Somewhere on the East coast of America. Let's take a look around, shall we?" He started to walk out, but River stopped him.

"Doctor, you may be completely comfortable in what you're wearing, but somehow I don't think I'm appropriately dressed." She gestured to her tank top and loose pants, most definitely not the conventional attire for a woman in this period, nor was it warm enough for the weather.

"Alright, fine! Go." He moved his hand in a shooing motion. "Down the hall, make two lefts, a right, down the staircase and it's the third door on your left." River laughed.

"I know, sweetie. Child of the TARDIS, remember?" She smiled and walked down the hall.

X

"River!" The Doctor exclaimed, gesturing to what she'd decided to dress in.

"What?" She said, fighting a smile.

"That's not what-"

"Come on, dear, I said I'd change … not that it would be typical for this time period. Much too uncomfortable." Rather than a long dress, she was wearing riding pants and tall boots, and a white sweater, complete with a short women's trench coat that was definitely not from this century. "Rule 408: Time is not the boss of you." She said with a smirk.

"I've taught you too well." The Doctor said with a sigh. "Come on. Let's go see why the old girl brought us here." He said, offering his arm playfully. She took it and they walked down the hall. They found themselves in a deserted bar, the kind you would see as the front room of an inn. Looking around, the clocks read about two in the morning, but there was still a fire blazing in the hearth, cutting through the cold blackness of the night. A shadowy figure was sitting silently in a tall-backed chair near the fire, gazing at the flames, though even in the flickering firelight his only clearly visible features were the milky whites of his eyes.

"I see God has granted me company in my misery tonight." He said softly as the pair approached, never looking from the fire. River cast a glance towards the Doctor, who shrugged.

"Hello," said River softly, "I hope we aren't disturbing you." Normally she wouldn't have given it a second thought, but something about that man- the room, nay, the very air around him surged with an emotion that most never quite discover how to describe. A quiet sadness, a longing of the heart seemed to hang about him, weighing his words with quiet sincerity.

"Quite the opposite. If you have the time, I beg you to stay." The man said, only now looking towards them. The Doctor nodded and stepped closer gingerly.

"Ah, what's the date, if you don't mind me asking?"

"October 2nd, 1849. Well, October 3rd now, I suppose." The man said.

"I see. And, where exactly are we?"

"How much have you had to drink, friend?" He said, astounded. "We're in Baltimore, Maryland." The Doctor nodded, clearing his throat uncomfortably.

"Thanks. Hello, I'm the Doctor, and this is River Song." He said, sitting in another one of the chairs and motioning for River to do the same.

"I have seen many doctors of many different professions, my friend. All of them readily gave their names, proudly, in fact, and I am inclined to ask yours."

"Smith." The Doctor said mechanically. It was almost a reflex now. The man chuckled, almost sadly.

"No." he said. "It cannot be that."

"What?" Asked the Doctor, slightly shocked.

"Such an uncommon man would not naturally have such an uncommon name. Ordinary names are for ordinary people, Doctor, that of which you are not."

"How can you know that?" River asked, slightly intrigued.

"He walks with a confidence that speaks volumes, yet he doesn't know the date or where he is. Nor do you, I presume. You're simply following him." The trio sat in silence for a moment before the man spoke again. "But forgive me for being so rude. I've had the audacity to ask for your names without giving you my own. I am Edgar Poe." If he'd been standing, the Doctor was sure he would need to sit. October 3rd.

"Edgar Allan Poe?"

"Yes. I suppose, yet again, my reputation precedes me." Poe said.

"Quite." Said the Doctor, still a little shocked. It couldn't be. Why had the TARDIS taken him here of all places, on the day he was about to die?

"It's an honor." River said sincerely.

"Thank you. I assure you, many people say quite the opposite, though I tend to agree that my writing is nothing extraordinary."

"But it is!" River said, eyes bright. "You bring things to life with words. Your stories are dark and the way you weave words is… breathtaking." She clearly knew a bit more about Poe's writings than the Doctor did, even if quite a bit less about his life. Edgar reached out and took her hand.

"My dear, you have no idea what that means to me. As the weather grows colder my initiative fades, and demons haunt my dreams. I fear I may never write again."

"I'm so sorry." River said.

"For what? My writing has had its time, as possibly my existence." He said, sinking back into his chair.

"Not that. I mean… Virginia." She said softly. Virginia Clemm, his cousin and late wife, who had died of tuberculosis, as so many women in his life had. Strange, really.

"Ah, yes." He nodded sadly, his voice catching a bit. "I loved her very much. As…" he trailed off, casting a glance at the Doctor, then looking back to River.

"Yes." She said, as if in confirmation. "I understand." Suddenly Poe's face went white, and he looked around the room in fear.

"Did you hear that?" He asked. "A voice?"

"No." Said the Doctor, his brow furrowed in confusion. "I didn't."

"There! Again!" Poe said, still looking. "I cannot sleep for fear that the speaker will invade my dreams."

"What speaker?" Asked River, still confused.

"Oh." The Doctor suddenly pulled out the sonic and waved it in front of Poe. "This is bad. This is very, very bad." He said as he checked the readings.

"What on earth-" Poe began, but the Doctor shushed him.

"Quiet! River, I think I know what he's hearing…" The Doctor said.

"What?"

"When we came into the room, what did it feel like to you?" he asked. River thought back- there was something that she couldn't describe… a disturbance, an aura…

"Wrong." She said. It was the only word that could remotely describe what she'd felt.

"You're a Time Lady, you can sense psychic energy, as can I. But he is 100% human, and he can't emit it on his own, so what's causing it?" The Doctor said, and River's eyes grew wide in fear.

"Excuse me, but would either one of you care to explain what's going on?" Poe said, growing a little angry. Their heads whipped around to look at him.

"Alright, quick explanation. You're right, my name's not Smith, and I'm not from here. I'm from another world." The Doctor said carefully.

"That is pure-" Poe began, then stopped.

"The voice said something, didn't it?" The Doctor asked. Poe nodded. "Edgar, it's dangerous. There's something inside you that's been there nearly your whole life, and now it's finally caught up with you."

"What is it?" Poe asked, afraid.

"I'm so sorry." The Doctor said, looking down. "You've got a psychic parasite. And it's looking for a new host." River shook her head, trying to physically clear the thoughts that were clouding her mind.

"A what?" she asked.

"A psychic parasite. They creep into the mind at an early age and look for strong hosts. The host gets a bit of its knowledge, like being able to tell that we were different, and the parasite gets a mind to express itself with. If the host dies the parasite dies with it. They usually prefer females since they have a stronger heart, but…" the Doctor couldn't finish the sentence. They all died when it tried. All the women who had died from tuberculosis had been a victim to the parasite, and it had eventually settled on Poe. However, his grief and lack of relief from the parasite was beginning to kill him, and it was progressing quickly.

"So I am the victim of a supernatural predator attached to my very thoughts?" Poe asked, placing his head in his hands. The Doctor nodded, face twisted with guilt.

"What can we do?" River asked.

"Well, we could try to remove it, but I don't know where it would go…"

"It would go into someone else, wouldn't it?" Poe asked. "I can feel it. It's hungry for something. I would never wish this on anyone."

"Doctor?" River said suddenly. "You said it was looking for a new host."

"Yes." The Doctor said, speaking slowly with the awful realization he'd just come to.

"And it knows there are two…"

"Yes." The Doctor said, standing and backing away slowly. "Alright. We can figure this out. We just have to-" his words melted into a cry of pain as both he and Poe collapsed to the floor. Poe stood up after a moment, gripping the chair, but the Doctor had been knocked unconscious.


	6. Chapter 6

"What- what happened?" Poe asked, astounded and breathing hard. River rushed to the Doctor's side, checking his vitals and trying to feel his mind with her own.

"It left you and went into him. The Doctor is an alien- he could live for hundreds of years. I don't know what went wrong. Come on, I need your help." With the help of Mr. Poe, River managed to get the Doctor back into the TARDIS. The scene would have been almost comical if not for the graveness of the situation.

"What on earth is this monstrosity?" Edgar asked upon seeing the TARDIS.

"No time to explain, just move!"

Once they had successfully dragged him through the doors, River immediately ran up to the console desk and started running scans on the Doctor and on the parasite.

"Again, I am inclined to ask you, what is this place?" Poe asked, looking around. River could no longer feel Poe's projected psychic aura from the parasite. Instead the Doctor's was becoming increasingly potent.

"It's another dimension, basically. Welcome to Time Travel 101." River said, not incredibly concerned with how he was taking it all.

"Time travel." Poe muttered under his breath. "Like something out of a fairy tale." River almost laughed.

"Trust me, it's no fairy tale." Her fingers flew over the typewriter keys, searching for anything in the TARDIS database that might have information about the parasite.

"And you go through time in this machine?" He asked. "It's… genius!" Poe smiled softly, looking at all the strange technology around him.

"Come on, old girl!" River said, checking the readings on the TARDIS scanner. "NO!" She nearly slammed her hand on the console, but stopped herself.

"What? What's wrong?"

"The parasite locked onto him because of his life span, but his mind is too advanced to be able to support it. Subconsciously he knows there's a parasite there and he's trying to kick it out. The problem is, it's like rejecting an organ- the stress of trying to get rid of it is killing him, and if he goes like this he won't be able to regenerate." His brain wouldn't be able to send out the hormone signaling his cells to start the process of a parasite was the main focus. On their home planet they never had the chance to prey on species with a more advanced mind, so they'd never encountered anything like this, and instinct was driving them forward.

"Rejecting an organ? Regenerate?"

"Sorry. Wrong time period." She said, trying to think. According to the TARDIS he had about twenty minutes left in this comatose state. If the Doctor's mind was trying to get rid of it, that meant there were two opposing forces at war here. Alright. What if something else could intervene?

"Tell me something." Edgar said softly.

"What?" River said, but quickly realized the harshness of her tone. "I'm sorry."

"It's alright." He put a hand on her shoulder. "You must love him very much." River nodded, a tear coursing down her cheek. She wasn't about to let the Doctor die. Not again, not on her watch. "How long?" Poe asked, and the question hung in the air like dewdrops on a spider web, the anticipation of the answer just as strange as the question itself.

"I can't remember not loving him." She said, thinking back for a moment. How on earth could she ever tell him how long? She couldn't… but she could show him. "I'm not… I'm not human, Mr. Poe. Neither is the Doctor. We're from another world."

"So he said. Though, I admit I'm only now beginning to believe him."

"I can show you something, but you have to open your mind and let me do it if you want to know." Poe nodded. River took that as a yes, and held his hand gently, letting her earlier memories flash into her conscious mind, bringing tears to her eyes. She saw the Doctor in Berlin, flashes of Kovarian and Lake Silencio, a kiss that she'd played over and over a thousand times, and finally a few fleeting glimpses of her incarceration in Stormcage before arriving here.

Poe nodded slowly as she looked over to where the Doctor lay unconscious, tears beginning to form in his eyes as the gravity of her entire situation hit him.

"He's all I have now." She said, still gazing towards him, unaware of any kind of future that might exist without him there. The TARDIS suddenly bleeped- more information was up on the parasite. Upon checking the scanner River found that they were more apt to enter willing or susceptible minds, and that they were actually sentient beings, meaning they could be spoken to and talked out of whatever head they were currently in… if you did it correctly.

"What was that?" Edgar asked, meaning the beep and the information.

"Goodbye, Mr. Poe. It was nice to meet you." River said suddenly, walking quickly over to the Doctor's limp body, kneeling beside him.

"What are you doing?" He asked.

"The only thing I can do. I won't let him die." River bent down and kissed the Doctor softly, whispering in his ear. "Live well, my love." She put her hands on his temples and her world went black as the parasite leapt into her own mind. The last things she remembered before slipping into unconsciousness were the Doctor's gasp and the painful sensation of her head cracking against the metal floor.

Poe walked over to where the Doctor was sitting up, groggy at first, then quickly awake when he saw River on the floor.

"River, no! I can't let you do this for me!" He said, cradling her comatose form in his arms. She wouldn't last five minutes like this- he could barely hold on as long as he had, and her life span was much shorter. He could still hear her words in his ears- ringing through his mind over and over. Live well, my love.

"What happened?" Poe asked.

"Parasites are more attracted to willing recipients. River basically set the trap and lured it out of my mind and into hers. She knew this would happen." The Doctor ran to the console and looked over the same information that River had only seconds before, returning quickly to her side and ignoring all the beginnings of questions from Poe.

"Alright, you," the Doctor said, speaking to the parasite, "I know you can hear me. You will cause an entire reality to collapse if you kill her, you can't stay there! And more importantly you will have killed my wife, and that is not a place you want to stand with me!" The psychic energy did little more than waiver before it went back to its previous state.

"Doctor, I-"

"I'm sorry, Edgar, there's nothing you can do." The Doctor said, running her over with the sonic. "She's going to die." He said, his voice choking.

"But there is." Edgar said. "Doctor, I am a man who has lost many that he loves, and so are you, but she is a woman who has given up everything for just one. She told me so, in her own way." He thought back to the glimpses of her life that had flashed through his mind; everything she had done for the Doctor. "I have nothing left in this world. The ones that I love have passed on into the next life, and all too soon I must do the same. The two of you are all that you have left. My time is drawing near- I can feel it in my very bones, and that parasite of yours could, too apparently. Thank you, Doctor, for showing me something I needed to see so much before I die." He bent down to pick up River's hand, but the Doctor stopped him, ever the selfless, and he felt sacrificing Poe for River without making him aware was awfully selfish.

"It won't be an easy death, Edgar." The Doctor said. "Your mind won't take kindly to accepting that parasite again." Poe nodded sadly.

"And yet, I will have seen the love I needed to see before my demise. It has been missing from my life for far too long. I think that it may be worth it." Poe reached down and took River's hand in his own, closing his eyes. "Come on, now." He said, seeming to address the parasite. "Yes, I know you don't want to die. Neither do I, but what say we go at it together?" There was a slight pause, a sharp intake of breath from Edgar, and River's body shuddered in his arms, but then… nothing. River groaned, reaching sleepily, blindly out to the place where her head had hit the floor. They could both practically smell Poe's psychic energy being amplified again, and he breathed deeply in and out, as if awakening from a nightmare.

"What…?" River was a bit disoriented, and if she didn't know better she'd have sworn the next life looked a lot like the inside of the TARDIS control room… Oh. About that time she caught sight of Poe standing shakily. Oh. The Doctor helped her to stand, and she promptly slapped him.

"Ouch! What was that for?" He asked, rubbing his cheek.

"Never scare me like that again!" She said. Of course, he would invariably manage to do so somehow, someway, somewhen, but a little reinforcement couldn't hurt.

"Doctor," Poe said from the side, "I believe it's time for me to go." He gripped the handrail for support, and they could see the weakness in his eyes. River realized then what he'd done for her. She walked over quickly and hugged him.

"Thank you. I'll never forget this. And I promise you one thing- the world will never forget you." Poe smiled, a sad smile infused with the tiniest pinpricks of some inevitable, untouchable joy that can't be kept from oneself when one believes it will soon come to pass.

"I believe you speak from experience. And I thank you for the knowledge that I shall no longer die alone." He tapped his head softly, indicating the parasite. Apparently they had come to a sort of understanding.

"Goodbye, Mr. Poe." The Doctor said. "It was a pleasure to know you."

"The pleasure is mine. And, it seems, I have finally met a doctor who can do his job." Edgar shook their hands and got ready to leave, but River stopped him.

"Wait!" She ran down the hall quickly and came back with a change of clothes. "You may want to put these on. You know, keeping history intact and such." She said. Poe laughed and took them from her.

"Whatever you say. Just do me a favor, Doctor, a last request, if you will."

"What's that?" The Doctor asked. Poe stepped forward so only he could hear.

"Marry her. Marry her again. You deserve not to doubt it, and so does she." Poe leaned back and the Doctor saluted him, something he hadn't done since the last time he saw Wilfred Mott.

"I will."

"I hope you do." And with that, Edgar Allan Poe stepped out of the TARDIS doors, back into the no longer quite deserted front room of the inn. A few moments later there was a grinding and a scraping noise, and when he looked back the blue box was gone.

X

"So." River said.

"So." The Doctor said, leaning against the railing as they floated through the vortex.

"What did he ask you to do?" She asked. "Before he left, what did he say?" The Doctor thought for a moment, wondering how exactly he should word this.

"River," he said, taking a deep breath. It had been a while since he'd done this. "Will you marry me?" River laughed.

"Didn't we just have this conversation?" She said, but the Doctor shook his head.

"No, I mean right now. In this timeline."

"Now?" She asked. The Doctor nodded sheepishly, expecting a 'Wait' or a 'Let's call mum first,' but not the answer he got.

"Yes." River said, walking towards him.

"Really?"

"Really. What better place for two Time Lords than the time vortex?" She said, wrapping her arms around his neck. They stood like that for a moment before she finally spoke. "So… how exactly does this work?"

"What? The ceremony?" The Doctor asked, nearly laughing. "Have you ever wondered what Gallifreyan marriage ceremonies were like, River?"


	7. Chapter 7

"Have you ever wondered what Gallifreyan marriage ceremonies were like, River?"

"No… but I have the strangest feeling I'm about to find out." She said, a small smile playing across your lips.

"On Gallifrey," The Doctor said, slowly wrapping his arms around her waist, "The weddings are usually smaller. Oh, some like the big, flashy shows, but usually it's just parents and a few privileged friends as witnesses."

"Time Lords aren't ones for publicity, I presume." River said. The Doctor laughed softly.

"Not normally. I personally prefer a more private ceremony. On earth everything is all tradition and dinners and wearing white- which, actually, if you think about it the white is supposed to represent virginity, and probably half the women who wear white aren't even virgins." River laughed at this- she'd had the same thought many times. "On Gallifrey it's all about the meaning of your vows. Regardless of witnesses, or priests, or ceremonial officials, any vows made on Gallifrey are sealed into the essence of time itself. If you truly mean to keep what you say… and sometimes even if you don't."

"I see. And what would this private ceremony consist of?" The Doctor thought for a moment, wondering how exactly to describe what a Gallifreyan wedding was like…

"Open your mind." He said, closing his eyes. "Relax." River took a deep breath in, her nostrils filling with the intoxicating scent of pure time that perpetually clung to the Doctor- like woodsmoke, and honey, and something she couldn't describe. Then suddenly the entire world melted around her and they were standing somewhere else- somewhere in the Doctor's memory.

"This is Gallifrey as I remember it, from long before the Time War." He said, his voice seeming to echo in her mind. The area around them was vast and open, and orange mountains gleamed in the distance far beyond a sea of peculiarly colored grass, dotted with flowers of even stranger, but more beautiful shades of blues and orange. Across the horizon the sky gleamed a yellow-green, the color of a Gallifreyan sunset, and just before the sky met the earth there was a fine dusting of silver-white stars, just beginning to appear in all their sparking wonder as the sun slowly sank behind them.

"Why are we here?" She asked, still in awe of the wondrous scene around her.

"On Gallifrey time exists and doesn't exist. It's a philosophical thing having to do with the planet housing the untempered schism. It's here that's the closest thing to every point in forever as you can get, and they say that while you're standing here, promises made will be kept for an eternity- it's literally impossible to make a promise that won't be kept. I've never had it fail me." He said. The Master had once told him, during a more peaceful time when they were best friends as boys, that he would sacrifice Gallifrey to save his friend if he had to. He'd probably forgotten that promise long ago, but he'd lived up to it when he saved him from Rassilon and the fall of Gallifrey. River turned her head slightly to the side, just enough to see him standing against the backdrop of the painted sky.

"Even in your memory?"

"Well, I suppose we'll find out." The Doctor kneeled, a little awkwardly, River's hands in his. "River Song. Melody Pond. Whatever name you choose to go by and whenever I might find you, I love you. Always. Will you be my wife?"

"Yes." She said, nearly imploding from some emotion that isn't meant to be described, as it would be injustice to the feeling to do anything but experience it. "I love you- even if time runs out and all the stars stop shining in the sky, and if you look at me one day and don't have a clue who I am, I'll never stop loving you." At those words tears sprang to the Doctor's eyes, fast and hot and bitter. She had no idea the significance of her words. He saw her even deeper in his mind now, running on a time loop in an exploding TARDIS, her words echoing over and over- "I'm sorry, my love." He saw her kneeling over him inside the Pandorica, refusing to answer him when he asked if she was married, and he remembered Amy's story of receiving the diary. Then he couldn't understand why she remembered, but now he knew. As he stood and kissed her his concentration broke from the joy or the pain (or maybe both), and they found themselves back in the TARDIS. River felt the Doctor's tears wet her own face, and she pulled apart, only for a moment.

"What's the matter?" She asked, cupping his face gently with her hand.

"Nothing." He said, catching his breath. "Everything is absolutely perfect. Just this once." The Doctor held her close, his beautiful River Song, both of them wanting to live in this moment forever and never let go. However, even in the time vortex, time tends to move on, however slowly or quickly our mind feels it needs to comprehend it. Those next few minutes seemed like a second or two to River, and like a look into an impossible eternity for the Doctor.

"So… we're married." River said, almost in awe. "Really, properly married. I never thought it would actually happen." The Doctor smiled.

"It happened, and it's still happening in a way. We were physically married in the time vortex, meaning we're sitting in the very essence of every part of time itself."

"Meaning we have all the time in the world?" River asked wistfully.

"Well… at least for tonight."

And for that night, it seemed, time truly did not exist behind those police box doors.

888

River woke the next morning to the Doctor tracing Gallifreyan words on her skin, burning the words of ancient power and emotion into her memory, and one she didn't quite recognize yet. Her eyes fluttered open, and he smiled to see her awake. She rolled bon her side to face him, warm beneath the blankets and from the heat of being next to him.

"Is it horribly selfish of me to want this so much?" He asked softly, the words nearly lost in her hair.

"What?"

"This. This life with you."

"No. Not unless I'm selfish, too."

"What?" The Doctor leaned back, only slightly, to look in her eyes more completely. "River, you gave so much for me. You gave up your life- lives- all your years and the time outside that you had in this one…"

"Don't remind me."

"Oh. I'm sorry, I-"

"I'm only joking, sweetie. I have you, don't I? I have a way out of that place when I need one. That's enough to live."

"There's always a reason to live." He said, kissing her forehead softly. "There's always a reason to love. Nine hundred years- there's always a reason." They lay there for a while, drinking in the few precious moments of each other's company that were and would be so few and far between, until River broke the silence.

"I have to go back, don't I?" She asked.

"No..." the Doctor held up his hands defensively as River shot him a glare.

"You know I do."

"Not forever."

"Spoilers, Doctor." She said playfully. The Doctor laughed at that- she was catching on quickly.

"Of course. Still… don't be afraid to break out every now and then. I'll always come running when you need me."

"Always?"

"Always."

Then, for that one brief moment of forever, lasting an eternity and a day, two time lords shared a love and an understanding beyond words or thoughts. There are certain things that can only be felt and experienced. There are certain things that can never be said. There are wonders that can only be seen looking from the outside into your own story, and there are things lying in the eye of the storm, in the calm center of a tumult of time, that will last long after the storm is gone.


End file.
